The idea being that the average rear echelon troop can make a 100 yard shot with it vs a 45 pistol. Being a light weight carbine, they are more likely to have it with them when it is needed versus handing them a big heavy rifle and expecting them to lug it and their typewriter or tool box around. I bet more enemy soldiers were killed with an M1 Carbine in WWII than with a Colt 45ACP.

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Officers carried them. Serious officers carried a Garand. REMFS carried carbines and hogged all of the good combat boots and fighting knives until Patton put a stop to it by threatening to send anyone found with those items to the front line.

for those on a budget that have to shoot at only paper targets here is a cheap way to make " shoot n see targets " rather than paying a buck a piece for them , and they are reusable .

material list

cardboard ( empty beer or soda box or anyother free cardboard you have laying around to recycle ) cut it into the shape you want , I make them into silloetts

flouressent or white spray paint
black spray paint
clear packing tape

instructions

1 spray the cardboard with the bright colored paint and let it dry

2 cover the whole thing with clear tape, over lap the seams slightly so that the 1st coat of paint is completely sealed

3 spray the tape with the black paint and let dry

4 shoot at it , your bullet holes will crack the tape revealing the colored bullet hole . to reuse , simply cover each hole with a piece of clear tape and respray it black , this can be done in the field .

here are 2 , the black one was shot with 410 bird shot and the white one with pistol rounds . you can also play around with multi colors in the base layer , like adding red or pink to " vital " spots

for comparison there is a store bought "shoot -n -c " target stuck to the home made version

On top is an older Browning B78 High Wall in .22-250. This was the model Browning made from 1973-1982 before they started making the new 1885 High Wall model. The B78 has one pin visible on the side of the receiver, and as I recall the 1885 has two. I used to have another B78 in .25-06 back in the 70s but it was traded off for a Colt Gold Cup back in time. This one has the octagonal barrel and Timney set trigger and is a sweet little rifle. It has a number of prairie dogs to its credit. You will love yours!

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You have some nice guns, FatChance! What's the lower one?

Here's my 1885, a 45/70 BPCR acquired from a former client who owed me some $ and turned this over as part of his fee back around 1997. I've fired it a fair bit and it's a good shooter.

It is a Sako Varmint model in .22-250. It is ridiculously accurate. When I was working up loads for it I was able to shoot flies on the target at 100 yards. It has accounted for many prairie dogs over the years.

for those on a budget that have to shoot at only paper targets here is a cheap way to make " shoot n see targets " rather than paying a buck a piece for them , and they are reusable .

material list

cardboard ( empty beer or soda box or anyother free cardboard you have laying around to recycle ) cut it into the shape you want , I make them into silloetts

flouressent or white spray paint
black spray paint
clear packing tape

instructions

1 spray the cardboard with the bright colored paint and let it dry

2 cover the whole thing with clear tape, over lap the seams slightly so that the 1st coat of paint is completely sealed

3 spray the tape with the black paint and let dry

4 shoot at it , your bullet holes will crack the tape revealing the colored bullet hole . to reuse , simply cover each hole with a piece of clear tape and respray it black , this can be done in the field .

here are 2 , the black one was shot with 410 bird shot and the white one with pistol rounds . you can also play around with multi colors in the base layer , like adding red or pink to " vital " spots

for comparison there is a store bought "shoot -n -c " target stuck to the home made version

happy shooting

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Interesting. I wonder if that would work with a sheet of clear contact paper instead of packing tape. Easier and faster to put down vs strips of tape.

Interesting. I wonder if that would work with a sheet of clear contact paper instead of packing tape. Easier and faster to put down vs strips of tape.

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I should think that contact paper would work too , I'm just too cheap to buy it , I haven't figured out how many large targets I get out of a roll of packing tape , but its for sure cheaper than the contact paper . Plus it is what I use to patch up the targets to reshoot .

here are 2 with the holes taped over and resprayed black ready to shoot again

If you're going to paint it anyway, why not take a favorite target, cut it out, and glue it to a piece of hardboard. Cut that out, and use the outer part as a stencil you lay on a piece of paper, then spray paint on it to print any number of targets you want. Just buy a roll of heavy kraft paper to make the targets from.

for those on a budget that have to shoot at only paper targets here is a cheap way to make " shoot n see targets " rather than paying a buck a piece for them , and they are reusable .

material list

cardboard ( empty beer or soda box or anyother free cardboard you have laying around to recycle ) cut it into the shape you want , I make them into silloetts

flouressent or white spray paint
black spray paint
clear packing tape

instructions

1 spray the cardboard with the bright colored paint and let it dry

2 cover the whole thing with clear tape, over lap the seams slightly so that the 1st coat of paint is completely sealed

3 spray the tape with the black paint and let dry
:
4 shoot at it , your bullet holes will crack the tape revealing the colored bullet hole . to reuse , simply cover each hole with a piece of clear tape and respray it black , this can be done in the field .

here are 2 , the black one was shot with 410 bird shot and the white one with pistol rounds . you can also play around with multi colors in the base layer , like adding red or pink to " vital " spots

for comparison there is a store bought "shoot -n -c " target stuck to the home made version

I have also experimented with using the brightly colored side of the cardboard like empty beer boxes and skipping the 1st paint step , only cover with tape and put the contrasting top coat . It works well as long as the under layer is a bright color . otherwise you are better to paint it .

If you're going to paint it anyway, why not take a favorite target, cut it out, and glue it to a piece of hardboard. Cut that out, and use the outer part as a stencil you lay on a piece of paper, then spray paint on it to print any number of targets you want. Just buy a roll of heavy kraft paper to make the targets from.

Click to expand...

the idea is to put clear tape on the target and paint it, making a shoot n see target , the painted tape will crack when hit , revealing the different color underneath so you can see your shots easier .